Chapter 197: Exploring the Signal

The cheers of victory had not yet dissipated when Ji Chen's communicator rang abruptly, and a strange signal drilled into his ear like a ghost.

This signal did not come from any known Ability Organization; the frequency was strange and intermittent, like some ancient whisper, hair-raising.

Ji Chen's brows twisted into a "chuan" shape, his eyes full of vigilance.

This feeling was like suddenly having a camper pop up in the final circle of a battle royale, making one's heart feel cold.

"What's going on?" Ceng Yue noticed Ji Chen's abnormality, her cool tone carrying a hint of worry that was hard to detect.

"A strange signal, I have to track its source," Ji Chen said, beginning to mobilize the supernatural ability within him, attempting to lock onto the signal's location.

The surrounding air seemed to become heavy, and the sense of oppression surged like a tide, making it hard to breathe.

Ceng Yue followed closely behind Ji Chen, her ice ability flowing around her, forming a thin shield.

Although she was sparing with words, her concern for Ji Chen was never hidden.

This damn signal, it better not be some kind of trick, otherwise, I'll freeze it to death!

The source of the signal did not seem far away; Ji Chen tracked it along the direction, only to arrive at an area shrouded in fog.

This fog was not ordinary mist but was composed of some strange energy, emitting an unsettling aura.

"Be careful, there's something wrong with this fog," Ceng Yue reminded him.

Ji Chen nodded, attempting to use his ability to probe the interior of the fog, only to find that his ability seemed to be suppressed by something, making it difficult to exert any effect.

"A bit tricky..." he said in a deep voice.

"Should we take a detour?" Ceng Yue suggested.

"Too late," Ji Chen's eyes hardened, "The signal source is deep in the fog; we must go in and take a look."

He took a deep breath, mobilized all his supernatural ability, and forcibly broke into the fog.

The moment he entered, a powerful energy impact rushed toward him; Ji Chen's body swayed involuntarily, and a strong sense of oppression instantly enveloped him.

This feeling was like falling into an enemy trap, surrounded by campers ready to spray you with bullets at any moment.

"Ji Chen!" Ceng Yue exclaimed and followed him into the fog.

In the fog, Ji Chen's ability was greatly restricted, as if shackled, and his movements became sluggish.

The surrounding fog grew thicker, visibility less than a meter, as if an invisible giant hand were slowly swallowing him...

"Damn it..." Ji Chen cursed in a low voice, suddenly feeling something approaching in the fog...

"What sound?" Ceng Yue asked vigilantly.

Ji Chen held his breath, listening carefully to the movement around them.

"Rustle..."

The sound grew closer and clearer...

The "rustle" sound grew closer, like countless tiny claws rubbing against the ground, making one's scalp tingle.

Ji Chen felt like he was playing a horror game, with a ghost scream suddenly coming through the headphones, scaring him so much he almost threw the mouse away.

But he quickly calmed down; after all, he was the new leader of the Urban Ability World, battle-hardened, and this small scene wasn't enough to make him panic.

He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the flow of energy around him.

Hmm, the energy flow of this fog was very regular, just like...

The footwork of square-dancing aunties?

No, it was like the rhythm of a heartbeat, one beat after another, very regular.

If it was regular, it was easy to handle; this meant the fog wasn't natural but man-made!

The corners of Ji Chen's mouth lifted slightly; his rich experience allowed him to quickly judge that the weak point of the fog was where the energy flow was slowest, just like playing a multiplayer online battle arena game, seizing the cooldown gap of the enemy hero's skills to take them out in one set!

He took a deep breath, concentrated his ability into a single point, and launched an attack at the weak point.

With a "Boom," the fog was like a pricked balloon, instantly dissipating, and the surrounding space returned to clarity.

"Beautiful!" Ji Chen snapped his fingers confidently, feeling he looked cool.

However, before he could enjoy the joy of victory, a group of mysterious mechanical creatures suddenly emerged from where the fog had dissipated, launching an attack on him and Ceng Yue without a word.

Damn, this plot twist is too fast!

Ji Chen hurriedly dodged, complaining: "These days, even robots have learned to stage accidents?"

These mechanical creatures had strange shapes, like a combination of some insect and machine, and their attack methods were bizarre—lasers, electromagnetic pulses, and even sonic attacks; it was simply a hodgepodge of skills.

Ji Chen dodged attacks while looking for a chance to counterattack.

Although these mechanical creatures had many attack patterns, their movements seemed somewhat stiff, like high network latency, their actions a beat slow.

Ji Chen seized this flaw and began to counterattack.

He used his agile footwork to dodge the mechanical creatures' attacks while using his ability for precise strikes.

Lasers and electromagnetic pulses were easily neutralized by him, and although the sonic attacks were a bit troublesome, they didn't have much effect on him.

As the battle progressed, Ji Chen gradually adapted to the mechanical creatures' attack patterns and found their weakness—the energy core.

He concentrated his ability and launched an attack at a mechanical creature's energy core.

The energy core exploded instantly, and the mechanical creature was paralyzed.

"Beautiful!" Ceng Yue, on the side, couldn't help but praise, her eyes full of admiration.

Ji Chen smiled slightly and continued to attack the remaining mechanical creatures.

Soon, all the mechanical creatures were destroyed, and the battle ended.

"The structure of these mechanical creatures..." Ji Chen squatted down, carefully observing the wreckage of the mechanical creatures, when suddenly his eyes froze, "Seems a bit interesting..." Ji Chen squatted down, his fingertips lightly brushing over those mechanical remains, like a treasure-appraising master opening a blind box, excitement flashing in his eyes.

"Tsk tsk, the energy core of this thing is interesting; it's actually wrapped in this special alloy and added with an energy release device—high-tech!" He clicked his tongue in wonder, as if he had discovered a new continent, feeling like he wasn't fighting monsters but playing a tech-puzzle game.

He carefully observed the remains of these mechanical creatures and found that their energy cores were not simple energy sources but a precise energy circulation system, where energy was continuously converted and released, like a small nuclear reactor, only the technology was more advanced.

Ji Chen instantly became interested; if this thing could be taken apart and studied, it might provide some ideas for upgrading his own ability.

The corners of his mouth lifted, revealing a confident smile; this feeling was like finding a cheat sheet for fast-clearing a game—awesome!

He mobilized the ability within his body, and his fingertips condensed a thin, long energy beam, precisely cutting the mechanical creature's energy core like a scalpel.

Wherever the energy beam reached, the alloy shell instantly melted, exposing the precise and complex structure inside, and the energy core was precisely exposed.

Ji Chen did not hesitate, controlling the energy beam to pierce the core directly; instantly, several mechanical creatures were like puppets that had lost their souls, collapsing to the ground one after another.

The light of the core's explosion illuminated the surroundings, making Ji Chen look like a king in control of the whole situation.

"Sure enough, as long as you find the weakness, even the strongest enemy is just a paper tiger." Ji Chen clapped his hands, stood up, and enjoyed the joy of victory; this feeling was like a pentakill in the King's Canyon—super awesome!

Just then, Ceng Yue walked slowly to Ji Chen's side, the cold look in her eyes melting a bit, replaced by a hint of tenderness that was hard to detect.

She stretched out her slender arms and gently hugged Ji Chen, her body pressing tightly against him; even the cold armor couldn't block the charm of the mature woman she exuded.

Ceng Yue rarely made such intimate gestures, but every time she did, it made Ji Chen feel her deep love.

Ji Chen felt a warm current surge into his heart, and the fatigue of the battle dissipated a bit.

He reached out and wrapped his arms around Ceng Yue's waist, pulling her tighter; the surrounding air seemed to become warm.

The two hugged tightly, enjoying the brief tranquility, as if the whole world were left with only them.

Just then, an anomaly occurred around them!

That strange signal seemed to have never appeared, disappearing completely.

Replacing it was a powerful suction, like a giant black hole, pulling Ji Chen and Ceng Yue toward an unknown direction... ===== CHAPTER 198 =====